9 Years Later FDA Gives Consumers Nothing

Nine years later, the FDA STILL can’t give consumers a cause to why thousands of pets have been sickened or killed by Chinese imported jerky treats. And the update tells us FDA had 9 opportunities to recall Chinese jerky treats – but did nothing.

May 16, 2016 the FDA provided consumers with an “update” to their 9 year long jerky treat investigation. The agency told consumers their investigation is “ongoing” – meaning, the FDA still has no clue why Chinese jerky treats have killed more than “1,140 dogs” and sickened “6,200 dogs, 26 cats, three people”.

It is of concern that the FDA jerky treat update states “The agency continues to caution pet owners that jerky pet treats are not required for a balanced diet.” The FDA ‘cautions’ pet owners about jerky treats and only about feeding jerky treats as a full diet – but gives NO direct warning against jerky treats imported from China. Doesn’t more than 6,000 pet illnesses and more than 1,140 pet deaths deserve a warning? Opposite to FDA handling of Chinese jerky treats, the agency directly ‘warns’ consumers against feeding their pet a raw food diet. Raw pet foods are linked to less than 5 pet illnesses and ZERO pet deaths – over the same 9 years. Why would FDA warn consumers about raw pet food and not warn consumers about Chinese jerky treats? Who is FDA really trying to protect…

The FDA tells consumers that since 2007 “The complaints FDA has received include reported adverse events involving different sizes, ages, and breeds of dogs. About 60 percent of the reports are for gastrointestinal illness (with or without elevated liver enzymes) and about 30 percent relate to kidney or urinary signs. The remaining 10 percent of cases involve a variety of other signs, including convulsions, tremors, hives, and skin irritation.”

FDA mentioned NY Department of Agriculture testing of jerky treats stating (bold added) “FDA scientists closely reviewed the NYSDAM findings and noted that when measurable levels of antibiotic drugs were found in the treats, they were consistently at very low levels – almost all were less than 0.0001 percent (< 1 part per million, or less than one inch in 16 miles).”

This statement by FDA is absolutely not true.

The New York Department of Agriculture test results were well over “0.0001 percent”. Through Freedom of Information Act request we know with certainty the NY Department of Agriculture test results were:

Page 5: “Several bacterial enterotoxins can cause severe illness in humans and animals. Product irradiation reduces the chance of bacterial growth after packaging. However, if bacteria produced toxins prior to irradiation, the toxins could potentially survive irradiation and be present in the final product.

Page 7: “FY 2014 results. Ten of 114 samples tested positive for glycerol, which was not a listed ingredient on the label. Some samples were correctly labeled as containing glycerol; however, the samples had very high glycerol contents. One product had a glycerol content of 200,000 ppm, which is equivalent to 20 percent of the product weight).”

10 products tested were mislabeled; mislabeled pet products are a violation of law, but – No Recall.

Page 9: “We tested 92 samples for sorbitol. Eighteen tested sorbitol positive, and 14 of those positive samples did not list sorbitol as an ingredient on the package label (8 store-bought and 6 case-related). The sorbitol concentrations in these 14 samples ranged from 7,890 ppm to 175,000 ppm. These samples were made by 8 different product brands.”

14 product samples were mislabeled; mislabeled pet treats are a violation of law, but – No Recall.

Page 14: “In FY 2014, we tested 71 samples for these analytes. Two case-related samples tested positive for EG in very small amounts. We believe these small amounts did not cause the reported symptoms in dogs. Several samples tested positive for PG, including 11 case-related samples without PG listed as an ingredient on the package label. Concentrations of PG in those samples ranged from 20 ppm to 35,000 ppm.”

11 samples were mislabeled; mislabeled pet treats are a violation of law, but – No Recall.

“In FY 2015, we tested 50 samples. Six case-related samples tested positive for sorbitol, and none had sorbitol on the package label. Sorbitol concentrations for those samples ranged from 100 ppm to 53,000 ppm.”

13 samples over two years were mislabeled – No Recall.

Page 17: “Amantadine is an FDA-approved antiviral drug for use in people and for use (extra-label) to control pain in dogs. In 2006, FDA prohibited use of amantadine in poultry, to preserve its effectiveness for preventing and treating influenza A in humans. In FY 2014, Lab 1 tested 71 samples for multiple analytes listed in the analytes list, including amantadine and antibiotics. Amantadine was detected in 27 case-related samples, all of which were imported products.”

Page 17: “In FY 2015, Lab 1 tested 50 samples for multiple analytes listed in the analytes list, including amantadine and antibiotics. The antibiotic azithromycin was detected in 7 samples, and amantadine was found in 9 samples (all products were imported).”

43 samples tested positive for illegal drugs over 2 years – No Recall.

“During FY 2015 testing, Maleic acid was found in 6 out of 50 samples (5 case-related and 1 control sample), with concentrations ranging from trace to 21 ppm. The significance of these findings is under evaluation.”

Page 24: “The majority of JPT products related to consumer complaint reports were imported from China. Although China’s poultry production sector shows a major transition towards development and growth, there are still concerns; a major one is poor farming practices. Some poultry suppliers may use antibiotics or antiviral drugs unapproved in the United States for use in poultry. The planned list of analytes included: azithromycin, erythromycin, streptozotocin, doxycycline, florfenicol, and amikacin (antibiotics), and ritanovir and acyclovir (antivirals).”

“We tested 50 JPT samples for azithromycin and ritanovir. Seven case-related samples tested positive for azithromycin, and none tested positive for ritanovir. We do not consider this finding a root cause of the reported animal illness. However, the results are concerning because azithromycin is not approved for use in poultry in the U.S.”

7 samples tested positive for an illegal drug – No Recall.

Page 25: “Bufotenin is an alkaloid found in the skin of some toad species, mushrooms, higher plants, and mammals. The name bufotenin originates from the “Bufo” genus of toads, which includes several species of psychoactive toads. Extracts of toad venom containing bufotenin and other bioactive compounds were used for centuries in some traditional Chinese medicines (Xie, 2002). Bufotenin is regulated as a Schedule I drug by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) at the federal level in the U.S., and is therefore illegal to buy, possess, or sell (Title 21 Code of Federal Regulations , DEA Drug Code 7433).”

1 product tested positive for an illegal drug – No Recall.

FDA closes their latest update with the following statement: “As veterinarians, animal scientists, and animal lovers ourselves, we strive to make sure that the products FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine regulates are safe, effective, and properly manufactured. We understand the love and devotion pets provide, and we are determined to find the answer to this mystery.”

I’ve yet to meet a pet owner that believes FDA ‘strives to make sure pet food products are safe’.

I can’t hardly read this it upsets me! Our Government, including the FDA is in the back pockets of China and big companies, just to name a few. We are human guinea pigs and our pets are also experimental in the plan too. Just makes me so MAD!

A few months ago I asked FDA/CVM if they had tested the suspect items for endotoxins, not surprisingly they did not respond. We have to wonder how complete their investigation has been into this calamity. They should first eliminate all of the potential causes, which they obviously have not done. I question the integrity of their staff if they can have a problem go unresolved for so many years without a hint of a solution. Do they really care or is this just another case of “SO WHAT” as we are seeing repeatedly from FDA when it comes to the safety of products being fed to our pets.

The FDA is a SHAMEFUL & CORRUPT Gov’t agency, who must think that we are ALL brain-dead by now, from all the fluoride they keep poisoning our water with. How in the world can they think that looking at the MOUNDS of evidence of what Chinese jerky treats has done to our beloved pets, that they should have recalled them 9yrs ago! What audacity they have to patronize us all, that we would be so stupid enough to believe their lies! Now they have the further audacity to continue lying to the public and wasting a tremendous amount of tax payer dollars on their “witch hunt” against raw food manufacturers! All the evidence of toxic food ingredients points in the direction of the big pet feed manufacturer’s, yet they keep re-directing their scrutiny in the wrong direction! This is UNBELIEVABLE that they somehow continually get away with this!, all at the expense of innocent animals lives lost, or their health badly injured. When is an FDA investigation going to happen?! They blatantly ignore facts, the law and seemingly do as they wish, or as the big corporations dictate to them. It’s infuriating to say the least!

The FDA has had a serious corrupt reputation for many years. It’s own scientists have acknowledged being intimated and threatened. Our gov’t goes after its whistleblowers reporting on crimes, rather than the criminals themselves! I hate to be such a pessimist and am not advocating resignation, but the odds are tough. The latest Obama nominee and chosen Chief of the FDA, Dr. Robert Califf (replacing Dr. Hamburg, who is being sued in federal court for homicide, conspiracy, racketeering, bribery), has major long-term connections with Big Pharma (lucrative dealings, financial support from more than 20 companies, millions in funding while at Duke Univ.). He is the “ultimate industry insider” (per Harvard political science professor, Daniel Carpenter), has deeper ties to the pharmaceutical industry than any FDA commissioner in recent memory (NYT) and was voted for almost unanimously (89 to 4) despite the many obvious conflicts of interest. Big Pharma has, now, solidified its control of the one of the top 3 most powerful and dangerous U.S. gov’t agencies (along with the USDA)!

Government corruption is rampant. The best ways to deal with them is through persistence, public information/education and laws suits. Trusting them and expecting integrity will rarely, if ever, happen, if ANY money and power is involved! I believe there are a FEW honest senators. If they have beloved pets, and/or are animal lovers, they may be reached. As evidenced by their voting records and general ideology, most of them, most likely, will be progressive members of the democratic party.

Look at these posts, it is so sad that we live in a country, OUR COUNTRY, and our government is in such bad shape. What happened to our country. Our children, our pets and our selves eating GOD ONLY KNOW WHAT and no one in government cares. Upsets me to no end. Ok I just had to rant

I feel the same way you all do…..It is very sad. I homecook for my dogs and wonder if the human grade food I use is even safe. With Arsenic being allowed by the FDA to keep the chicken meat “pink”…I do not like using it in my dogs food. All the pesticides and ROUNDUP being used….Roundup contains glysophates which has been proved to cause cancer. I just don’t know anymore. I just do my best to stay connected to what is going on in our food supply. It’s not only our food and our pets food but also the drugs doctors try to push on us. 🙁

To Sheri : as Terri says – best to buy organic, and also good to know your farmer. If they are not in your area, can google them.
Also, the “Certified Organic” label is best, as is strictly regulated.
The term “Free-range” is controversial and often is green-washed, but can be done honorably.